During the summer months, the halls of Newmark Lab and the adjacent Civil & Environmental Engineering Building are quiet. But for two weeks in July, they came back to life as dozens of high-school students filled the classrooms to take part in STEM-focused summer camp experiences.

Grainger Engineering offers several summer camp options as part of their Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) program. These hands-on opportunities give STEM-interested students the chance to take on real and challenging projects, learn from world-class instructors and experience what it is like to study at one of the world's best engineering schools

This summer, CEE participated in two of the camp offerings: Exploring Your Options, and Diving Deeper into a Discipline. 

Exploring Your Options (EYO)

EYO introduces 9th-12th grade students with a general interest in STEM to varied disciplines of engineering. Throughout the week, students participated in modules hosted by 11 of the engineering departments on campus, allowing them the chance to hone their interests while gaining valuable experience in STEM-based problem solving.

CEE’s module focused on introducing students to the role civil and environmental engineers play in renewable energy. Through different engagement activities, students saw how a renewable energy transition can support sustainable living and got to test their own skills applying climate change mitigation principles to solve problems through engineering, 

Students worked with educational kits containing model solar panels, wind turbines, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuel stations and renewable energy cars. To conclude their visit to CEE, campers put together Power Point presentations and posters, sharing the insights they collected with their peers and instructors.

Diving Deeper into a Discipline (3D)

For high school students with a more refined idea of their engineering interests, the college also offers week-long Diving Deeper into a Discipline (3D) sessions, which focus on deeper exploration within specific engineering departments on campus.

CEE’s 3D session, City Designers and Builders Camp, offered students a closer look at how civil and environmental engineering impacts society. Ten different sessions hosted by CEE professors gave students a sample of the challenges civil and environmental engineers work on every day, including renewable energy, sustainable materials, air quality assessment, community resilience, disaster recovery, climate change, shape memory alloys, design optimization, 3D printing, responsive materials and robotics.

The campers’ schedule also featured visits to key research facilities in the department and on campus, including the U of I Energy Farm, the Illinois Center for Transportation, the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge, and the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory. There they witnessed engineering innovation in action, visiting with researchers and learning about the technology they use every day to help them solve challenges facing a changing world.

Dr. Maryam Ghadiri, CEE’s student outreach specialist, coordinated the department’s camp sessions, and was excited to welcome this year’s bright cohort of students to campus from across the U.S. and Canada. Participating in outreach activities such as these is a vital part of the department’s mission, and while this year proved extremely successful, she hopes to see the efforts continue growing in the future.

“Looking ahead, we hope to grow these programs by involving more faculty members,” Ghadiri said. “These camps are a great way to inspire young people and highlight the important work CEE does to help build a safer, more sustainable, and more resilient world.”